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Empire Building, the Debt Ceiling the Budget Deficit and the Samson Solution
James Petras
Introduction
US and world political and economic leaders are faced with what they describe as a ‘systemic catastrophe’: the inability to pay global creditors, including domestic and foreign banks, investors and governments, who hold $16.7 trillion in US Treasury notes. There is a related crisis: the government cannot secure passage of a budget to finance its military and civilian agencies and activities, including large-scale payments to military contractors, the financing of business, agriculture and banking operations and social programs. The raising of the debt-ceiling is central to the functioning of the financial ruling class as it extracts hundreds of billions of tax dollars in interest payments from the US Treasury. Raising the debt ceiling allows the State to keep borrowing and pay its billionaire creditors. In turn, as long as the US Treasury has liquidity, it remains a ‘safe haven’ for investors thus providing guaranteed profits. In addition, as long as the dollar remains the principle currency for global transactions, it allows the US Treasury to print money at will and to borrow at a lower cost - at the expense of its competitors and adversaries.
New NSA Revelations
by Stephen Lendman
NSA is one of 16 known US spy agencies. They're all up to no good. They violate core rule of law principles.
They do whatever they want. They operate out-of-control. They're powers unto themselves. NSA reflects Big Brother writ large.
It operate globally. It's the world's biggest spy agency. It watches everyone. Advanced technology lets it go where no previous counterpart went before.
Privacy no longer exists. Congress ignores its lawlessness. Oversight is absent. NSA takes full advantage.
Two Washington Post articles revealed more. They're based on documents Edward Snowden provided. Expect lots more disclosures ahead.
Washington Brinksmanship Resolution
by Stephen Lendman
Beltway theatrics don't surprise. Ordinary people lose out most often. For sure this time. More on that below.
Late Wednesday, 16 days of government shutdown ended. Denouement came with a whimper, not a bang.
The Senate approved reopening government 81 - 18. The House followed suit 285 - 144. Obama signed the measure shortly after midnight.
HR 2775: Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014 authorizes funding through January 15. It raises the debt ceiling through February 7.
It maintains $986.3 billion for five appropriation bills. It includes other unreported provisions. It's standard Washington sausage-making. It makes the real thing look good by comparison.
Dramatic Increase in Israeli Settlement Construction
by Stephen Lendman
Peace Now compiled disturbing evidence. More on it below. It calls itself "the leading voice of Israeli public pressure for peace."
It wants Israel's occupation ended. It has over 10,000 global members.
Settlement Watch is one of its important initiatives. It reports on ongoing construction. Doing so undermines peace. It prevents peaceful conflict resolution.
It denies Palestinian self-determination. It hardens ruthless occupation. Maintaining it violates international law.
Iranian Nuclear Talks: Hold the Cheers
by Stephen Lendman
Old time US radio hero Lamont Cranston (aka the Shadow) used to ask "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows."
Perhaps he had US policymakers in mind. Duplicity defines their agenda.
For nearly 35 years, Iran has wrongfully been vilified. It remains America's main Middle East bete noire. Just concluded nuclear talks changed nothing. More on that below.
Following two days of talks in Geneva, P5+1 countries and Iran called them positive. A joint statement said the following: "Delegations of the E3+3 (Britain, France and Germany + America, China and Russia) and the Islamic Republic of Iran held two days of substantive and forward looking negotiations (on) 15 and 16 October 2013.
Obama Zombies are Alinsky Fanatics
by: BATR
The wackos that believe that Barack Hussein Obama is a political rock star are blind to reality. It would be one thing if eccentric characteristics shaped such opinions of social outcasts, but when entire segments of the MTV population speak in a PBS lisp, the liberal popular culture has drunk the kool aid. The zombie rage in flicks is no accident. Converting entire generations of lost souls into National Civilian Service Corps NSA informants is an effortless task, when government schooled illiterates adore Barry Soetoro. Turning a constitutional republic into a collectivist gulag is only possible, when the greater fool principle becomes the law of the land. By objective standards, Obama is a dismal failure as leader of the free world and defender of the underprivileged. The African-American community voice Tavis Smiley states: 'Black People Will Have Lost Ground in Every Single Economic Indicator' Under Obama. "The data is going to indicate sadly that when the Obama administration is over, black people will have lost ground in every single leading economic indicator category."
Appalling Human Rights Abuses in Bahrain
by Stephen Lendman
Since February 2011, Bahrainis challenged state terror policies heroically. Brutal crackdowns followed. They continue.
They include mass arrests, imprisonments, torture, kangaroo court trials, and overall ruthlessness.
Bahrain's ruling Al Khalifa monarchy is a close US ally. Washington provides material support. It's one of the world's most despotic regimes. Ruthlessness defines its policies. More on that below.
According to the State Department's 2012 human rights report,
serious human rights abuses persist.
They include "citizens inability to change their government peacefully; arrest and detention of protesters on vague charges, in some cases leading to their torture in detention; and lack of due process in trials of political and human rights activists, medical personnel, teachers, and students, with some resulting in harsh sentences."
China Calls for De-Americanizing
by Stephen Lendman
It's an idea whose time has come. On October 13, China's official press agency Xinhua headlined "Commentary: US fiscal failure warrants a de-Americanized world." More on this below.
Thomas Jefferson once warned:
"If the American people allow the banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation, and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive people of all property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers occupied."
New Iranian Nuclear Talks
by Stephen Lendman
On October 15, new P5 + 1 talks began. Five permanent Security Council members plus Germany are meeting in Geneva with Iran.
Previous rounds failed. Will this time be different? Israel wants no letup in sanctions. It wants lots more besides. More on that below.
AIPAC lobbies intensively for whatever Israel wants. It exerts enormous influence in Washington.
An October 14, State Department briefing said the following:
"We are encouraged that President Rouhani has received a mandate from the Iranian people to pursue a more moderate course."
"We are also encouraged that President Rouhani recently reiterated that Iran will never develop a nuclear weapon."
Obama "believes we should test those assertions, which is part of what we'll be doing over the coming days."
"Foreign Minister Zarif has said he is coming with a detailed proposal that elaborates on the thoughtful presentation he made to the P5+1 foreign ministers in New York, and we are ready to hear it, to listen to it, and to go to work, if it is substantive and concrete."
Nestle: Global Water Predator
by Stephen Lendman
Nestle is a global predator. It lies calling itself "the world's leading nutrition, health and wellness company."
"Our mission of 'Good Food, Good Life' is to provide consumers with the best tasting, most nutritious choices in a wide range of food and beverage categories and eating occasions, from morning to night."
Acquiring competitors secured it numerous water brands. They're listed under the heading "Nestle Waters: The Healthy Hydration Company."
They include Aqua Spring, Deep Spring, Glaciar, Ice Mountain, Perrier, Poland Spring, and Pure Life among others. They're sold in dozens of countries worldwide.
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